


Trouble on the Science Express

by Aioni



Series: Short Stories [4]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Alpha Build of A Hat in Time, Gen, Major canon divergence, Not Canon Compliant, Science Express (AHiT), Train Rush, Trainwreck of Science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25496740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aioni/pseuds/Aioni
Summary: Mu snuck onto the Science Express, looking for the Time Piece that the fifth Conductor had somewhere on his train.
Series: Short Stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788058
Kudos: 13





	Trouble on the Science Express

**Author's Note:**

> Just a stupid thing I wrote. This whole fic relates to what the Conductor "says" on the [alpha build of A Hat in Time](https://tcrf.net/Proto:A_Hat_in_Time_\(Windows,_Mac_OS_X\)/Alpha)
> 
> I hope this isn't too rushed...

_Science Express. . .  
_ _1950 hours. . .  
_ _Dead Bird Station. . .  
  
_

A girl hid herself underneath her hood as she stepped onto the Science Express. The Conductor (the fifth one, if she remembers correctly) was busy checking other peoples’ tickets, so she swiftly entered the train without anyone spotting her. 

Inside the train, she hoisted herself near the roof of the car and entered into a small side room that only the Conductor could access. It was small, quiet, and just enough room for the owl to fit. It was a security room. The control room installed security cameras last year in order to combat people that tried to stowaway on the Science Express--mainly moon penguins and crows and the rare case of a science owl. 

The girl neared the control panel for the cameras and watched them. “ _Ey! Ye bunch of peck necks! Show me them tickets or yer not getting on board!_ ” The Conductor squawked at the crowd of science owls, moon penguins, and other species that lived on this planet. On another camera, 11B, showed the object she was looking for. The Time Piece sat in its full glory, shimmering and shining. It was like the Conductor _wanted_ for her to take the glowing object since it was so easy to spot. 

If she was lucky, the Conductor would be checking the tickets until eight, which gave her _just_ enough time to get into wherever camera 11B was and take the Time Piece that was rightfully hers. Turning away from the control panel, she quietly exited from the security room, hopped down the small foothold and onto the floor. The hooded girl quickly checked if anyone saw her; no one did.

She figured that the room with the Time Piece would be somewhere near the control room--a place she felt intimidated by. She had no idea what would be in store for her if she ever managed to get caught by the Conductor, but since he was so blind she figured it wasn’t a problem. But still… 

The figure shook her head. No, this wasn’t the time to be scared of a control room--who was she for thinking that?! She was the great Mu, for crying out loud! She had no reason to be scared of a room! 

Mu shook off her nerves and continued forward, slipping into the shadows every time someone was to walk past her and making her way into the next car. She faintly heard the Conductor calling for any stragglers that were left before they took off. Mu thought he was compassionate when she heard that, but then she heard a loud slam of the door shortly after.

...Maybe not.

Mu pressed herself against the wall and tried to make herself as small as possible when she heard the Conductor walk past her. “This is Conductor five,” he said into the walkie-talkie. “No one’s outside. They’re all inside. We’re ready t’go, control room. Conductor out.” He looked around, briefly suspicious, but then walked off. Mu sighed softly and kept going. She’d need to get as close to the control room as she could--if only she could get a map… 

As if the gods themselves were on her side, there was a small yet readable map stapled on the bulletin board. There was a small room close to the control room--she suspected that the Time Piece would be there, since it’s so close to the room that the Conductor loved reporting to. Wasn’t this _his_ train?

Was the Conductor heading there? Mu shuddered at the thought. She had briefly seen the Conductor fight a few times before in the past--all of the times he had never visibly taken damage. So, if Mu managed to get in a fight, she would be screwed. Who taught him how to wield a knife like it was a fight to the death? 

In short, Mu was terrified of both the control room and the Conductor and didn’t want to come into contact with either of them.

Quietly sprinting to the unnamed room that wasn’t far from the control room, she bumped into someone. A moon penguin. She hissed at her and sprinted away, hoping that the moon penguin would be confused and forget that a little cloaked girl was running about the train. Soon after, she heard soft footsteps following her. 

Mu looked back and noticed the strange pastel pink moon penguin following after her, confusion evident on her face. “Wait!” She softly said, trying not to receive any unwanted attention. “Where are you going?” Mu hissed at her and threw an empty can that she got a few minutes prior at her head and bolted in the direction of the Time Piece.

The moon penguin sat there, dazed, until she realized that the Conductor had spoken to her about a half-hour before, saying something along the lines of “ _There was a hooded lass here a few minutes ago. Where did she go?_ ” Was this the girl he was looking for? She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the Conductor, who was in his little security room, staring blankly at the cameras like usual. The moon penguin grabbed the small ledge and hoisted herself up, knocking on the door at an erratic pace. 

The Conductor swung open the door. “What?” He hissed out. She flinched but answered: “Th-The hooded girl! I ran into her not too long ago!” The owl was confused, but then raced to the cameras. There, he spotted a hooded girl running down the hallway and toward the location of the Time Piece.

“Goddamnit!” He spat and turned to the moon penguin. “ _What are ye waitin’ for?! GO!_ ” The Conductor yelled and the moon penguin hopped off the small ledge and ran after the girl. He sighed and turned on his walkie-talkie. “Control room, there’s a hooded lass runnin’ about on the train--can ye do somethin’ ‘bout that?” He waited for a response. 

“ _Where is she?_ ” came the voice on the other line. “Headin’ toward the thingamajig… the, uh… the Time Piece. And she’s fast, too. I’ve someone goin’ to her right now, but I dunno if that’s enough to stop ‘er.”  
“ _Right. We’ll send someone to her location right away. I bet she’s armed, so you head too._ _Control room out._ ” The Conductor nodded to no one and put the walkie-talkie on the desk and ran out, hoping that he wasn’t too late.

Mu was making a mess on the train, but she didn’t care. She grabbed whatever she could to toss back at the moon penguin that was gaining on her. Mu had even ducked into different rooms that somehow led her closer to the Time Piece, but that blasted moon penguin was _still_ gaining on her! When did the Conductor have a thing for agile moon penguins?!

“Stop!” the pastel pink penguin shouted as she dodged another full can that probably felt like a bag of bricks. “I just want to talk to you!”  
“Peck off!” Mu yelled back and finally ran into the room with the Time Piece. The moon penguin slammed her flippers on the door, hoping that it’d do something, but it didn’t.

Inside, Mu slowly walked toward the mystical object that had belonged to her. The Time Piece was all _hers_. The hooded girl picked up the Time Piece and felt a rush she hadn’t felt in a long time. She faintly heard the yell of the same moon penguin that had pursued her, but it didn’t matter now. She held the power of the Time Piece. Even with one, she could still do a lot. 

Mu turned to the door and walked up to it. “ _It’s mine now_ ,” she whispered to the moon penguin. She shifted her gaze to the suspicious looking lever to her left. The girl recalled once that the Conductor had a self-destruct sequence on the train but had never used it due to the Science Express being his “baby”. 

Well, now would be a great time to use it. Mu would activate it, escape, and get to watch someone’s hard work get blown up in her face. It would be great! She jogged over to the lever and gave it a good yank downward. 

**Two minutes and zero seconds until self-destruct. Oh no!**

Mu grinned. 

The Conductor paled. Who activated the train’s self-destruct sequence?! He ran faster than he ever did in his life to reach the room that held the Time Piece. There were several science owls that tried to stop him (for whatever reason), but he pushed them aside. Right now, he does _not_ care about who gets hurt. He needed to save his lovely train!

As he got to the door, he noticed that the moon penguin that he had sent after the hooded girl was lying on the floor, unconscious. _So she IS armed!_ He thought and looked at inside the room that the object that hit him in the face was held. It obviously wasn’t there, and he wasn’t hearing things. The Science Express’s self-destruct was clearly active, and he only had--

**One minute and twenty seconds until self-destruct. Better hurry!**

The Conductor mentally kicked himself. Who thought that a train had to have a self-destruct sequence?! Especially the train that he obviously loves so dearly?! He growled and knelt by the moon penguin. He slapped her, hoping that pain would wake her up. The Conductor then shook her by the shoulders. _Get up you useless--_ she opened her eyes. “Oi!” He quietly hissed. “Go t’the bomb and disable it!” The moon penguin didn’t comprehend English. Or, rather, the Conductor’s English. 

“Did ye hear me?!” The Conductor grew desperate. “Go t’ the bomb an’ disable the peckin’ thing!” The moon penguin sluggishly sat upright and put a hand to her head. “Whaaat?” She dragged out as she stared blankly at the panicked owl. 

“Go. Disable. The. Damned. Bomb!” He growled out, and without waiting for a response, he stood up and ran to chase the hooded brat--where he thought she was, anyway.

**Forty seconds until self-destruct. We’re doomed!**

Every breath felt like his last. 

The Conductor couldn’t find her. He couldn’t find the brat who thought she could get away from him--the fearsome train conductor who had a track record of beating up people that thought they could kick his ass. This little girl had the _nerve_ of activating the train’s bomb without his _CONSENT_! 

He ran to the back of the train and swung open the door. There, he spotted a red cloaked figure running away from the train that was going to explode any second. Hissing, the Conductor jumped off of the speeding train and onto the dusty sand below. 

...Who’s idea was it to conduct a train in the middle of the _desert?!_

The Conductor raced after the girl. If he could get his hands on the Time Piece, then maybe he can prevent this entire thing from happening! “ _OI_!” He squawked, gaining on her.  
  
Frightened, Mu turned around and saw a very angry owl sprinting after her. She screamed and turned tail, running away as best she could in the sand. Seriously, who’s idea was it to drive a train in the desert?!

Letting out a battle cry, the Conductor jumped the cloaked girl and tried to swipe the Time Piece. Mu kicked him in the gut and scrambled to her feet. She wobbled back a few paces and tried to catch her breath. This was the one thing she _didn’t_ want happening, and here it was. Happening.

The Conductor held his abdomen in pain as he struggled to stand upright. For a child, she could punch far too well. Who the peck _taught_ her? “Give me th’ Time Piece, brat,” he spat, “and nothin’ happens to ye.”  
“And if I don’t?” Mu tested.  
“I don’t care if I’ve gotta kill a child,” the Conductor said. “You probably blew me train sky high by now. I think it’s worth it.” The bird reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a very sharp knife. It looked like an average kitchen knife--does he do nothing but sharpen the thing?! “I’m givin’ ye a chance, lass. Time Piece…” He let the knife reflect the sun dramatically. “...or death.” 

Mu stared into the knife’s reflective surface. She could fight, but could she fight the Conductor? She didn’t doubt the owl’s fighting skills whatsoever, however she didn’t want to give up the Time Piece she’s been searching for all this time. She hesitated and looked at the owl instead. 

If he had eyes, Mu would be dead. 

Her hands shook as she looked down at the glowing Time Piece. “Tick tock, lass,” the Conductor’s voice rang throughout her head. “I ‘aven’t got all day, ye know. Whaddlit be? Time Piece or your life?”

Mu stared at the Conductor’s hat. Maybe there were eyes underneath it, but she was unsure. “Fine,” she suddenly said. “ _Fine_.”  
“Fine _what_ , ye peck neck?”

Mu got in a fighting stance. “You’re going down, birdbrain!” The Conductor grinned. “Fine by me, brat! Ye’ve destroyed me train by now and now ye’re gonna _PAY THE PRICE!_ ” The Conductor rushed her, knife gleaming in the orange glow of the sun. Mu readied herself, a foot ready to kick sand to blind him. 

When the Conductor swung his knife down at breakneck speeds, Mu swiped her foot upwards and sand was suddenly in the Conductor’s face. However, Mu forgot that the Conductor doesn’t have eyes. “Ye think that _sand_ will stop me?! Yer really _stupid!_ ” The owl stepped back and without giving Mu a second to breathe a breath of horror, he rushed her again, this time not stopping for anything. 

When the knife came down a second time, the Conductor--

**-One.  
Goodbye!**


End file.
